How proteins bind 'hidden' DNA

How can proteins bind DNA in the cell nucleus, where it is present in form of chromatin, tightly wrapped around histones and therefore mostly inaccessible? Recently, several studies began to uncover the various strategies ...

Universal mechanism of regulation in plant cells discovered

All plant cells obtain their energy mainly from two organelles they contain—chloroplasts (responsible for photosynthesis) and mitochondria (responsible for the biochemical cycle of respiration that converts sugars into ...

Microscopy deep learning predicts viral infections

When viruses infect a cell, changes in the cell nucleus occur, and these can be observed through fluorescence microscopy. Using fluoresence images made in live cells, researchers at the University of Zurich have trained an ...

Controlling insulin production with a smartwatch

Many modern fitness trackers and smartwatches feature integrated LEDs. The green light emitted, whether continuous or pulsed, penetrates the skin and can be used to measure the wearer's heart rate during physical activity ...

Resetting the biological clock by flipping a switch

The biological clock is present in almost all cells of an organism. As more and more evidence emerges that clocks in certain organs could be out of sync, there is a need to investigate and reset these clocks locally. Scientists ...

Protein can release trapped histones in the cell

In the cell nucleus, histones play a crucial role packaging DNA into chromatin. Histones are however very sticky to both DNA and RNA, so to ensure they are transported to the cell nucleus after synthesis and bind to the right ...

Researchers report new technique to image the cell nucleus

Nestled deep in the nucleus of each of your cells is what seems like a magic trick: Six feet of DNA is packaged into a tiny space 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Like a long, thin string of genetic spaghetti, ...

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